Mailbag

I had several emails, phone calls and personal interactions concerning the Country Boy Store column, previous columns and ideas for future visits. We'll start with the constructive criticism:

Tim Killebrew (I'm sorry if this name spelling is incorrect, but Mr. Killebrew did not leave a phone number at which to contact him in my message, which was transferred to me from a different New Era phone) told me that I should have mentioned the real location of the store. Although I did say the store was between Gracey and Herndon, he said I should have mentioned that the store is actually in Newstead.

While I did mention that the store is several hundred feet from the former Newstead train depot, Mr. Killebrew is quite right, I did not mention specifically that the store is in Newstead. My apologies.

I received an email from Susan Perdue Hughes, saying she enjoyed the goat island story I had a few weeks ago and wanted to know how to find the island. She asked for vehicle or boat directions, and had trouble locating it on her Lake Barkley State Resort Park map.

Ms. Hughes, I had trouble finding the island as well. However, I did have a simple map from the park office that showed goat island. It's approximately two or three miles from the park lodge, to the right of the lodge if you are looking out at the lake from the balcony. It won't be the first island you come across, but it will be the biggest. Even once I found it though, I really wasn't certain it was the island until I actually saw a goat.

Lastly, I had an email from Nora Spinaio that said she enjoyed the country boy column, but wondered if my Mom liked her present or knew what it was. This letter came before my Mom's response in the blog yesterday, but I'll summarize: yes, she did enjoy the gift, but we're both still trying to figure out exactly what it is or how she's going to use it!

Ms. Spinaio also suggested I visit the Lighthouse of Crofton Assembly of God. She said it's one of those little churches found all over the south, and the fellowship hall is almost finished being repaired.

I had never heard of the church before your suggestion, Ms. Spinaio, but I will ask around, look into and who knows, maybe it will be in a column in the not-too-distant future.

Thanks again to everyone who sends emails, calls in or speaks with me personally about my columns. I really appreciate and value any and all feedback!

Tomorrow I'll give a preview of some future column sites, and give a hint as to where I'll be for this coming Monday's column.

Mailbag

Each week I'll share some of the responses, positive and negative, that I get from my columns

It was a rather slow week as far as responses to the column go. Although I did speak with several people who shared some of their horse ridding memories with me, I only received one email specifically related to my rodeo experience. It comes from a man named Wiley, and I happen to agree with him.

After asking whether I was related to some Bouchers who owned a real hardware store in the Nashville area in the 1950s (as far as I know I'm not, by the way. I think my Bouchers came from Canada, but I'm always down for meeting/creating new relatives) he had his own opinion about my clothing:

"If you were wearing a wool shirt in Kentucky in August you are tougher than I am." 

Well thank you, sir. Although it had less to do with toughness and more to do with trying to look the part of a cowboy--which I'm fairly certain I failed anyway, thanks to not having a cowboy hat--I appreciate your sentiment. I've already passed it along to staff photographer Dana Long, who felt it was not a sign of toughness as much as a sign of stupidity. 

I prefer your interpretation.

I did receive several other emails from people suggesting sites and events that need to be featured in future columns. One came from local media veteran Jim Love, who suggested I look into two stories: one dealing with an interesting local twist on the tale of Noah's arc, the other a local tie to a car accident involving Gen. George Patton. Both seem fairly entertaining, if not entirely factual, and I'm excited to do a little digging. 

I also received a suggestion from a man named Ben, who said he lives in Cadiz. He suggested I visit a famous civil war site located in western Kentucky, and provided part of the history for that site. I agree Ben, that would be a great place to visit; while others have mentioned the site in the past, no one has provided pictures to bolster their pitch. I'm convinced it's a great idea, and it will definitely make an appearance in an article in the near future.

Thanks again to everyone who sent me responses; good, bad, neutral or nasty, I appreciate any and all feedback.

For tomorrow's blog post, I want to hear about your favorite rodeo experiences. What's your favorite event? How did this year's rodeo compare to others in the past? Would you ever ride a bull?

Send your stories and pictures to me, either by posting to the blog or through email at dboucher@kentuckynewera.com.